Showdown 5: Career Potential

This is part five of a series exploring factors in self-employment and traditional employment. For more about this series, read the opening article.

Career Potential

What the future could hold for you in terms of work

Self

Boss

Pros

Cons

Pros

Cons

Success is great exposure

Acquisition can lead to huge career boosts

Pave your own way – choose your work

Small business ownership provides a wide range of experience

Challenge yourself and develop the skills you want

Some employers may view self-employment as a euphemism for unemployment

Building equity in your business can make it difficult to leave behind

Promotions and career development may come faster

There’s budget for training

Opportunities to learn from a mentor

You’re limited to the opportunities within your environment

Promotions may rely on seniority, which could slow your ascent

Some employers are threatened by ambitious employees

Conclusions

If you want to change what you do or how you work, self-employment gives you the freedom to make those choices. Self-employment also has the wonderful benefit of providing experiences well outside of the normal candidate. That’s a major advantage. Working for someone else gives you access to a lot of resources – people, funds, and experiences – but many of those are available in your own business.